Cruxis Child
by Destiny Gamer
Summary: After Anna is killed, Kratos takes Lloyd to DerrisKharlan, where he becomes a member of Cruxis. Now, Kratos must protect Lloyd while hiding the truth about his mothers death from him.
1. Chapter 1

**Me: hi everyone. … I don't feel like doing an author's note right now…**

**I own nothing.**

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'_Damn it! How did this happen?!_' Kratos thought as he ran through the Iselia forest, holding his son to his chest protectively. He looked down at the unconscious boy in his arms. Lloyd had been injured in the fight with Kvar that had cost Anna her life. The small child was wrapped in a red blanket, shivering slightly and pale white. He had a long gash in his forehead that was still bleeding. Kratos had tried everything he could think of to help his son but nothing seemed to stop the bleeding.

'_Doctor… I need to find a doctor! Or a healer! Or… something!'_ he thought franticly. That's when a thought came to him. _'She was a healer. Maybe…' _

He pulled out his wings, still trying to think of anywhere else he could go, but it was his only chance. Lloyd's only chance. He held the boy closer and flew, as fast as he could, toward the Tower of Salvation.

---

Yuan sat in his office on Derris-Kharlan, working on a small laptop. Someone knocked on his door but he didn't look up.

"I'm busy. Come back later." He said, his eyes still on his computer screen. The person knocked more forcefully. Yuan looked up. "I said come back later." he said, going back to his computer screen. He heard a crash as his door was broken down. He looked up to give Kratos, who was standing in the doorway, an angry look. "What part of 'later' did you not understand?"

Kratos glared at him. "Save it, Yuan." he snapped, walking in. Yuan raised an eyebrow at him. He was covered in blood and was holding a red blanket like his life depended on it.

"What happened to you? And what's with the blanket?" He asked. Kratos walked over to him.

"Did Martel teach you any healing arts before she died?" he asked. Yuan looked at him.

"She might have. Why?" he asked. Kratos looked down and showed the injured Lloyd to him. Yuan stood up and walked around his desk.

"Lloyd?!" he gasped, reaching out worriedly to touch him. He didn't know why, but he had formed a strong bond with the toddler while he was helping them hide from Yggdrasill and the desians.

Kratos reluctantly handed his son over to Yuan. Yuan looked over his wound with a calculating look on his face. "Well? Can you help him or not?!"

Yuan nodded slowly, running his hand over the wound until Lloyd jerked back. "It's not fatal but it is serious. We need to get him treated now."

"Can you do it?" He asked hurriedly.

"Yes. Don't worry, I'll take good care of him."

Yuan carried Lloyd into the next room, Kratos right behind him. He put Lloyd on a bed and knelt down beside him, quietly chanting words that Kratos had never heard before.

"What are you doing?" Kratos asked. Yuan stopped chanting, his attention still on Lloyd and the spell.

"An ancient healing art that was lost long ago. Martel was one of the only ones who knew it and she taught it to me. Now be quiet."

Kratos fell silent, fidgeting anxiously. The room was dead silent other then Yuan's whispered chant.

Yuan was interrupted by Yggdrasill's booming voice. "Yuan! Get out here NOW!"

Yuan growled softly. "Damn it…" he cursed quietly, "Why now of all times?!"

"… I'll go take care of Mithos…" Kratos said in a very reluctant tone. Yuan shook his head.

"Forget about him. Focus on Lloyd."

Kratos nodded and sat next to Lloyd on the bed. He took his son's small hand and held it gently. "How did this happen…?" he whispered softly to himself. Yuan watched him out of the corner of his eye.

"You tell me." he said, still casting the healing spell.

"… Anna… Anna was killed…"

Yuan paused. "… I'm sorry… I know it's hard when someone you love is killed-"

"I killed her."

Yuan looked up at him, unable to hide his shock.

"Kvar attacked and removed her exsphere…." Kratos explained, "She… She begged me to kill her…"

Yuan stayed silent, turning back to Lloyd. Kratos reached for the small locket around his neck and held it in his hand.

"I'm just worried about Lloyd. I don't know if he saw it or not..."

"… What happened to the exsphere?" Yuan asked after a long pause. Kratos reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, blood covered stone. Yuan nodded.

"As soon as I know Lloyd is safe, I'll destroy this thing." Kratos declared.

"No. You should give it to Lloyd. He'll need it."

"What?!" Kratos yelled, "Let Lloyd have this thing?! The thing that turned his mother into a monster?! Are you insane?!"

"Keep your voice down," Yuan warned, "He'll need an exsphere, you know that, if he's going to survive here." he finished his spell and stood up, not looking at Kratos. Kratos glared at him.

"He's not staying in Cruxis. _I'm _not staying in Cruxis. I've had enough of Derris-Kharlan. We're leaving and we're not coming back."

"You go ahead and tell yourself that, Kratos. But Cruxis is in your blood, as well as his."

Kratos turned away. "…"

"… Daddy?"

The quiet call made Kratos jump. He turned to see Lloyd sitting up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Kratos sighed in relief.

"Lloyd, are you alright?" Yuan asked. Lloyd turned to him.

"Yuan? Yeah. Why?"

Yuan looked at Kratos. So did Lloyd.

"Daddy, where awe we?" he asked.

"… We're on Derris-Kharlan, Lloyd."

"But, you said never to go to Dewis-Khawlan…"

"… I know, Lloyd…"

"… Daddy? Why is there blood on you?" Lloyd asked slowly. Kratos looked at his shirt. He had forgotten he was covered in blood. "… Where's mama?"

"… Lloyd… Your mother…" Kratos tried to find the right words.

"…" Yuan watched him. He decided to help his friend. "Your mother was killed in the fight against Kvar."

Lloyd looked at him in disbelief. "W… What?" he turned to Kratos. "… Daddy?"

"… I'm sorry, Lloyd."

Lloyd started crying. "H-how?!"

"…" Kratos wanted to turn away but couldn't.

"Kvar killed her." Yuan said.

"Yuan…" Kratos whispered.

"She died in the fight."

"… wh-what f-fight?" Lloyd asked, his voice shaking.

Kratos looked at Lloyd questioningly. "What do you mean 'what fight?'"

Lloyd cocked his head. "I-I don't wemember any f-fight…" he said, still crying.

Kratos looked from Lloyd to Yuan and back. Yuan gave him a 'don't make a scene' look. He walked to the door. "Lloyd, you should get some rest."

"But-!"

"Lloyd…" Yuan said warningly.

"Okay…" he said in a defeated tone. Yuan walked out of the room. Kratos looked at Lloyd.

"I'll be right back."

"Daddy?"

Kratos smiled and ran a hand through his son's hair. "I promise, I'll be right back. I'm right outside the door if you need me."

Lloyd nodded, fresh tears falling from his eyes. Kratos stood up and walked into the next room, closing the door behind him. He turned to Yuan.

"Why can't he remember the fight?" he asked accusingly.

"Well, all spells have their side effects… besides, it might be better if he doesn't remember it."

"How is it better if you wipe his memory?!" Kratos snapped.

"What if he had seen Anna being killed? By you, no less." Yuan pointed out, "Imagine if he had seen his mother being killed by his own father."

"…"

"Daddy!" Lloyd called from the next room. Kratos turned to the door.

"Yuan. Thank you." he said quietly, turning the handle. Yuan nodded.

---

Lloyd was sitting on the bed, hugging his knees. Kratos sat down next to him and ran his hand through his son's hair. "You're okay, Lloyd." he said comfortingly.

Lloyd crawled over to his father and climbed into his lap. Kratos waited for him to get settled before pulling the blanket over him.

"Daddy? Is mama really gone?" He asked. Kratos pulled him closer.

"I'm sorry, Lloyd." was the only thing he could think to say.

"Can't you bwing mama back?" he asked pleadingly, looking up at his father. Kratos shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I can't bring the dead back to life."

"Yes you can! You can do anything, daddy! I know it!" he yelled, trying to make his father believe his words.

Kratos looked at him sadly. "I wish that was true… I'm sorry I couldn't help her. This is all my fault."

"It's not your fault! It was somebody else! I know it! You saved me and you can save mama too!" Lloyd argued. Kratos paused.

"… Lloyd, you should get some sleep." he said, pulling the blanket higher. Lloyd groaned defiantly and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately. Kratos watched him silently.

"Mama…" Lloyd whispered in his sleep, tears falling from his eyes. Kratos leaned against the wall.

"I'm sorry, Lloyd, Anna… I'm so sorry…" he whispered, tears falling from his eyes too. He closed his eyes and eventually managed to fall asleep.

---

Kratos blinked slowly, reaching up to rub his eyes. He looked around and saw that all the lights had been turned off, and someone had put a blanket over him. Lloyd was still asleep in his lap. Kratos shook his head. _'When did I fall asleep?!' _

He looked over and saw his Judgment uniform, along with a smaller one looking similar to his own, but was pale red and white. _'There's no way Yuan was serious about us staying on Derris-Kharlan… right?'_

He slowly moved Lloyd off of him and picked up his judgment uniform, looking over it bitterly. _'well, this is better then the blood covered clothes I have on now.'_

He pulled off his clothes and put the clean ones on. Looking at Lloyd one last time to make sure he was still asleep, he turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door silently behind him. Yuan was there to greet him.

"I didn't think I would see you in that again." he commented when he saw the judgment uniform.

"You put it there." Kratos pointed out bitterly. Yuan shrugged.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you would actually wear it."

Kratos was about to comment when he heard a very angry voice. "Kratos! Get out here right now!"

Kratos glared at Yuan. "Don't give me that look." Yuan said with an annoyed tone, "He would have found out anyway."

Kratos glared in the direction of Yggdrasill's scream. "If he wakes Lloyd, I'll kill him." he turned back to Yuan. "And then I'll come back and kill you."

"Why kill me?"

"I don't know. I just will." he said, storming out of the room. He found Yggdrasill storming around outside the door. He looked up when Kratos walked out.

"Where have you been?!" Yggdrasill yelled. Kratos glared.

"Keep your voice down, Mithos." he warned.

"Why?! So that damn _human_ can sleep?!" Yggdrasill asked, yelling even louder, unable to keep his temper under control. Kratos grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him so their faces were only an inch apart. If looks could kill, Yggdrasill would be in so many pieces, no one would ever be able to tell it was him.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about my son that way, you damn bastard." He said.

"Let go of me." Mithos said angrily. Kratos didn't move.

"Do you understand what will happen to you if you ever go near my son?" he asked. Yggdrasill growled.

"Let go."

"Do you understand, Mithos?!" Kratos yelled. They glared at each other.

"I'm not afraid of you, Kratos. Let. Me. Go." he said. Kratos let go of his shirt, pushing him off to the side.

"Don't go near my son." he warned, turning around and walking away.

"I wasn't going to, damn it!" Yggdrasill yelled. "I came to tell you that he can stay in Cruxis with you and the rest of us!"

Kratos stopped. He turned around to look at him. "What?"

Yggdrasill crossed his arms. "Both you and Lloyd are going to stay here. While he's here, he'll be treated as if he was a seraphim. No one will touch him." he said.

"Why are you doing this?" Kratos asked, trying to understand Yggdrasill's motive.

"I can't let you leave Cruxis and I know the only way you'll stay is if Lloyd's here with you." Yggdrasill paused. "Look, Yuan told me what happened. I can't risk you going off and doing something stupid."

Kratos looked away bitterly. "Why? Because I'm the origin seal?"

"You know why." Yggdrasill said, calmly. Kratos stayed silent, feeling slightly guilty. Yggdrasill turned away.

The door opened and Yuan stepped out, Lloyd clinging to his leg. "Lloyd, get off." he said gently.

"Daddy!" Lloyd called, running to his father and hanging onto his leg instead. Yggdrasill turned back around and looked at him. Lloyd looked up at him nervously, uncomfortable with the Cruxis leader's cold stare. He hid behind his father.

Yggdrasill walked over to him and knelt down. Kratos but his hand on his sword hilt, feeling overprotective.

Lloyd tried to hide as Yggdrasill gave him the same icy stare. "You're Lloyd, right?" he asked. Lloyd nodded slowly.

Yggdrasill reached out and messed with Lloyds hair. He smiled. "Hey Lloyd. I'm lord Yggdrasill, but you can call me uncle Mithos. You're going to be living here now."

Kratos and Yuan stared at him in disbelief. Lloyd inched out from behind his father.

"Uncle Mithos?" he repeated carefully.

"Yep," Yggdrasill said kindly, "If you need anything, just ask me, okay?" he instructed. Lloyd nodded. "Good." he said, standing up and walking away. Lloyd watched him as Kratos and Yuan turned to look at each other.

"Kratos, who was that…?" Yuan asked. Kratos shook his head.

"I have no idea… I wonder what he did with Mithos…"

Lloyd cocked his head. "I live in Cwuxis now." he said, looking up at Kratos and Yuan. Kratos slapped his forehead while Yuan smiled, trying not to laugh.

"This is going to be a very long lifetime…" Kratos whispered to himself.

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**Me: Ok. Review. No flames. Flames will be given to Mithos and used to destroy the world.**

**Oh, and if anyone has an idea of something that happens to Lloyd as a kid in Cruxis, feel free to tell me and I'll try to use it sooner or later.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Me: Hey guys! Thank you all so much for your reviews! And for your ideas, which I will be sure to use in future chapters! (and enjoy every minute of it. Mwahahahaha!)**

**Lloyd: That's not good…**

**Younger Lloyd: Yay!**

**Lloyd: … Why are you so happy? And why do you look like me?**

**Me: He's you as a little kid.**

**Younger Lloyd: Yep! And I just like to destroy things!**

**Lloyd: … Wow, he really is me.**

**Me: Disclaimer?**

**Younger Lloyd: Sakura **_**does**_** own me and daddy!**

**Me: I like this kid…**

**Lloyd: do it right.**

**Me: fine. I don't own ToS. Happy now?**

**Lloyd: not really.**

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"Daddy, I'm bored."

Kratos sighed, turning from his work to look at his son, now in a judgment uniform, sitting on the ground looking up at him. "I know, Lloyd. You've told me that already." he said before going back to his work.

"… Hey, daddy?" Lloyd started. Kratos looked at him. "I'm bored."

"Lloyd…" Kratos said in a warning voice.

"… Daddy, I'm bored" Lloyd said again. Kratos gave him a 'say it again and you'll be sorry' look. Lloyd got the message. He got up and walked over to Yuan.

"Hey, Yuan?"

"Yes Lloyd?"

"I'm bored."

Yuan smiled at him while Kratos banged his head on the desk. Lloyd watched him.

"Hey Yuan, daddy's weird."

Yuan laughed. "Believe me, I know."

Kratos glared at him. "If I had something heavy right now, I'd throw it at you."

Lloyd walked up to him and handed him a big book that seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Here, daddy."

"Lloyd, where'd you get this?" he asked, taking the book.

Lloyd pause. "… I don't know…" He shrugged.

Kratos shrugged too, tossing the book into the air and catching it. "Works for me." he said, taking aim at Yuan's head.

"Kratos!" Yuan said, "That's a very valuable book. Put it down."

Kratos sighed and put it down. "Martel, I hate it here." he said. Yuan glared angrily at him. "Sorry. It just slipped out." Kratos apologized. Yuan went back to his work, looking extremely pissed off.

"What's wrong with Yuan?" Lloyd asked.

"Nothing." Kratos said. He whispered, "Just don't say 'Martel' around him, ok?"

Lloyd nodded. He sat on the floor and stared at the wall. _'I'm bored.'_ he thought, not really wanting to tell his father or Yuan out of fear of being killed. He got up and walked over to the door, reaching up to open it.

"Lloyd, where are you going?" Kratos asked. Lloyd looked at him from the doorway.

"… I don't know." he admitted, and walked out, shutting the door behind him. Kratos sighed and got up, walking to the door.

"Why don't you just put a leash on the kid?" Yuan said sarcastically. Kratos smacked him in the back of the head.

"Moron." he said.

---

Lloyd walked through the halls of Derris-Kharlan. He stopped when he saw someone walking up to him.

"Excuse me!" he said. Pronyma looked down at him.

"A human?" she said to herself. "This must be the one Lord Yggdrasill was talking about."

"Can you tell me where Uncle Mithos is?" Lloyd asked.

"Lord Yggdrasill? Why?"

"I'm bored. He said go to him if I needed anything. I need something to do." Lloyd explained.

"You shouldn't bother the lord." she told him.

Lloyd looked up at her, giving her puppy-dog eyes and pouting slightly. "Pwease?" he begged. She sighed.

"He's over there." she said, pointing in the direction she had come from. "Just follow the yelling, you'll find him."

"Thank you!" Lloyd said, before running off.

He ran down the hall until he was pulled from behind, making him fall over. He felt himself being lifted up by the back of his shirt and yelled.

"How the hell did you get here?!" someone yelled. Lloyd turned to see Kvar glaring at him.

"Let go!" Lloyd cried, struggling to break free of the desian's grasp.

"How the hell are you still alive?! I thought I killed you and your worthless mother!"

Lloyd stop struggling. "You… You killed mama? NO!" Lloyd yelled.

"Well, I don't know how you got out of there alive but I'll fix that now." he snapped, grabbing Lloyd's neck.

"Help!" Lloyd screamed, the hand on his neck getting tighter.

"Kvar!" someone yelled. Lloyd and Kvar looked back and saw Yggdrasill glaring at them.

"Ah, Lord Yggdrasill," Kvar started. "I was just about to kill this human," he held up Lloyd, "care to join me?"

"Put him down. Now!" Yggdrasill yelled.

"But, my Lord-"

"Now Kvar!" Yggdrasill yelled louder, "That's an order!"

Kvar reluctantly let go, letting Lloyd drop to the ground with a thud.

"Lloyd, come here." Yggdrasill commanded, his eyes still on Kvar. Lloyd ran to Yggdrasill's side and Yggdrasill picked him up. "Are you okay?" he whispered, turning to Lloyd. Lloyd nodded. Yggdrasill turned back to Kvar.

"Don't you dare ever touch him, understood?!" Yggdrasill snapped. "And tell the others not to harm him either."

He didn't wait for a response. He turned and took Lloyd in the other direction. Lloyd put his face in Yggdrasill's shirt and cried quietly.

"It's okay, Lloyd." Yggdrasill said comfortingly, "No one's going to bother you anymore."

Lloyd nodded into his shirt. "I w-was s-scared…" he cried. Yggdrasill ran a hand through the child's hair.

"I know, Lloyd. I know."

Lloyd turned to see where they were headed. They were in a part of Derris-Kharlan Lloyd had never seen before. There were angels everywhere and they were surrounded by tall buildings. Lloyd gasped softly. "Angels!"

Yggdrasill nodded. "Yes, almost everyone here is an angel."

"They're like daddy!"

Yggdrasill looked down at him. "You know about your father being an angel?"

"Uh-huh. Daddy takes me when he flies! It's fun!" Lloyd smiled.

"I see."

Yggdrasill stepped on a warp-pad and Lloyd gasped again as a bright light came up around them and they were teleported to Mithos' castle.

"How'd you do that?!" Lloyd asked excitedly. Yggdrasill smiled. 

"Didn't you use a warp-pad to get here?" he asked, knowing it was the only way to get to Derris-Kharlan.

"I don't know. I wasn't awake when we came, after…" he trailed off. Yggdrasill waited for him to continue. "That bad man killed mama…" he whispered, tears coming to his eyes again. Yggdrasill cocked his head. He sat Lloyd down on the steps and sat next to him, a few steps down so he was at eye level with Lloyd.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"The bad man that you saved me from… he said he killed mama… and he wanted to kill me…"

"Kvar did?" Yggdrasill asked, reminding himself to kill Kvar next time he got a chance.

"… Uncle Mithos? Can't mama come back?" Lloyd asked.

"Lloyd… do you understand what death means?" he asked. Lloyd nodded.

"Daddy explained it when he had to kill bad men that came after us…"

"Then you know it's not possible to bring the dead back to life?" he asked.

"… b-but… mama…" Lloyd cried. "Mama has to come back!"

"… I think there's a way." Yggdrasill said. Lloyd looked at him. "My sister, Martel, was killed. I want to find a way to bring her back."

"Martel?" Lloyd repeated. "Daddy said, don't say 'Martel' around Yuan. It made Yuan mad."

Yggdrasill smiled sadly. "I think he was sad, not angry. Yuan and Martel loved each other very much."

"Like mama and daddy?" Lloyd asked. Yggdrasill nodded. Lloyd paused for a while. "Can mama come back too?"

Yggdrasill watched him. "When I find a way to bring your Aunt Martel back, I'll bring your mother back too."

"Really?!" Lloyd gasped. Yggdrasill smiled.

"Yes, really."

Lloyd smiled. "So mama and aunt Martel will come back!" he laughed excitedly. He paused and turned away, his smile gone. "Uncle Mithos, why are you nice to me?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. Daddy and Yuan were surprised when you were nice to me…"

Yggdrasill smiled. "Well, I can see why they would be surprised." He shrugged, "I just like kids." he reached over to play with Lloyd's hair.

The warp-pad started to light up and Kratos appeared in the room. "Lloyd, what are you doing here… with Mithos?" he added once he saw the Cruxis leader. Yggdrasill glared at him.

"I found him walking around the halls." Yggdrasill explained in a bitter tone.

"Uncle Mithos saved me from the bad guy!" Lloyd yelled. Kratos looked at him.

"Bad guy?"

"Kvar." Yggdrasill said. Kratos growled.

"That bastard is here?!" He yelled. Lloyd flinched and Yggdrasill ran his hand through his hair.

"Don't worry, he won't go near Lloyd. I'm making sure of that." Yggdrasill said strongly. Kratos stayed silent.

"Daddy, Uncle Mithos saved me!" Lloyd said happily, "He made the bad man go away!"

Kratos looked at Yggdrasill. "You saved him?" he asked. Yggdrasill nodded. "Thank you, Mithos." Yggdrasill shrugged.

"No problem." he said. He picked up Lloyd. "Time for you to go back with your dad."

"Ok." Lloyd said as he was handed to his father. Kratos held him and turned around. "Bye uncle Mithos!" he called over Kratos' shoulder as they stepped onto the warp-pad.

---

Kratos made his way back to his room, Lloyd in his arms.

"Hey, daddy! Daddy!" Lloyd called. Kratos looked down at him.

"Yes?"

"Uncle Mithos said that he thinks there's a way to bring mama back!" he said excitedly. Kratos looked away, pain showing in his eyes.

"Did he…" Kratos whispered. He stopped and Lloyd watched him, a puzzled look on his face.

"… Daddy?"

"Lloyd… You shouldn't believe everything he tells you." Kratos told him. Lloyd looked hurt.

"Why?"

"Mithos…" he started, trying to find the right words, "… He believes things that might get him into trouble someday."

"But he said he would bring mama back!" Lloyd protested, "He's gonna bring mama and aunt Martel back!"

Kratos stayed silent, not sure what to tell his son. They walked in silence back to their room.

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**Me: Alright, I'll get the next one up soon. School's over so I should be able to update more!**

**Lloyd: Which is bad for me.**

**Younger Lloyd: Yay! I get to play more if she updates!**

**Me: Lloyd, take some advice from yourself, be more positive! **

**Lloyd: … fine… Well, I guess I do get to spend more time with dad… and killing people… I mean-**

**Me: Review please!**

**Lloyd: And maybe I can torture Yuan and Mithos! And-**

**Me: Lloyd, it's over.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: Hey, Everyone. Thank you all for your reviews. I-**

**Mithos: What the hell did you do to me?!**

**Me: Oh, hi Mithos.**

**Mithos: Could you make me more OOC?!**

**Me: Actually, I could.**

**Mithos: Please don't…**

**Me: Disclaimer?**

**Mithos: Destiny Gamer owns nothing…**

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Lloyd laid, curled up under a blanket on his bed, which was about six times his size. His room was right next to Kratos' and, like every other room on Derris-Kharlan, they were identical. A small room containing a large bed and a desk. Silver walls, floor, and ceiling; giving the room a really cold feeling.

He could feel his father's eyes on his back through the darkness. The feeling was strangely comforting, and something he had gotten use to. His father had watched him every night since they came to Derris-Kharlan. It had been about three months now and Lloyd was starting to grow use to the Cruxis life.

Kratos' gaze shifted away as he turned from his son.

"Daddy, don't leave." Lloyd called quietly though the dark. After a few seconds he felt the bed shift as his father sat down.

"Lloyd, you should be asleep. It's the middle of the night." Kratos scolded quietly. Lloyd gripped his blanket.

"Daddy… tell me about mama." Lloyd whispered. Kratos almost sighed, but caught himself before he did.

'_He's asked that every night for a while now.' _Kratos thought. He was starting to really worry about his son.

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"… How did mama die?" Lloyd asked, still refusing to look at his father.

"Lloyd-"

"Why won't you tell me, daddy?"

Kratos reached over and picked Lloyd up. Lloyd didn't protest. Kratos held his son to him, as if trying to protect him from harm. "Lloyd, I want to tell you. I really do…" Kratos said, willing his son to understand. "It's just hard. You'll understand someday. I swear I'll tell you what happened someday…" he promised, his voice cracking slightly.

Lloyd looked up and saw tear on his father's face. Lloyd reached up and brushed them away, tears running down his own face.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to make daddy cry…" Lloyd whispered. He buried his face in his father's shirt and cried. Kratos held him closer, his hands shaking slightly.

"It's not your fault, Lloyd. None of this is your fault." Kratos told him. Lloyd nodded sadly into his father's shirt.

---

After Lloyd had finally fallen asleep, Kratos went back to his room, where Yuan was waiting for him. Kratos acted like he wasn't even there, and Yuan shook his head.

"You need to tell him, Kratos." He said. Kratos glared at him. "He'll figure it out. He already knows you're hiding things from him. He just proved that."

"What were you doing eavesdropping on me and my son?"

"Kratos-"

"Just leave us alone." Kratos snapped, walking past Yuan and out of the room. Yuan followed him.

"He will find out. Isn't it better that he hears it from his father?"

"He's three years old! How do I tell my three year old son that I killed his mother?"

"… I'm sorry, Kratos, but I don't have an answer for that."

Kratos growled quietly, "Well, when you can give me an answer to that question, I'll tell Lloyd about Anna."

"It's not my job to figure out how to tell him. It's yours."

Kratos turned around a corner, hoping Yuan wouldn't follow him. To his dismay, Yuan continued to follow.

"Leave me alone, Yuan." Kratos snapped in an annoyed tone.

"I had to put up with you for over 4000 years. Now, you're going to deal with me for a few minutes."

"I had to deal with you for over 4000 years, too, Yuan. Go away."

"No." Yuan said simply.

To Kratos' annoyance, Mithos (in his normal form) decided to come up and join the conversation.

"No, what?" He asked Yuan.

Yuan turned to him. "I told Kratos that he should tell Lloyd about killing Lloyd's mother, Anna. He said no and told me to go away. I told him no." Yuan explained. Mithos nodded. He turned to Kratos.

"So why does Lloyd think Kvar killed… Anna?" He asked, looking at Yuan to make sure he had the right name. Yuan nodded.

"We got into a fight with Kvar. Lloyd passed out before the fight was over. Right after Lloyd passed out, Kvar removed Anna's exsphere. Kvar left and Anna begged me to kill her. Lloyd thought Anna was killed in the fight." Kratos explained angrily.

"Is that why Kvar thinks he was the one who killed the human?"

"Her name is Anna." Kratos snapped dangerously, turning on Mithos. "Not that it's any of your business."

"I'm the leader of Cruxis. If I want it to be my business, it becomes my business."

"…" Kratos turned around and walked away, Yuan and Mithos right behind him.

"You have to tell him, Kratos." Mithos said.

"That's what I said." Yuan whispered in an annoyed tone.

"Would both of you shut up?!" Kratos snapped. Mithos grinned at Yuan.

"He's being very out of character today isn't he?"

"He's always out of character…" Yuan sighed.

"Well, actually, he has no character…" Mithos added.

Kratos gave them both a death glare. "Martel, what did I do to deserve this…" Yuan and Mithos both glared at him.

"I heard that!" They both said. Kratos looked away. He sighed and turned another corner, walking over to a warp-pad leading to Sylvarant.

"Kratos, what are you doing?" Yuan asked.

"I'm going to go find Noishe. He fell down a cliff when Anna was killed. I'm sure he's still alive, but I left him on Sylvarant. I'm going to go find him."

"But what about-"

"I'll trust you two to take care of Lloyd." Kratos continued. "I'll be back soon."

He stepped on the warp-pad and disappeared. Yuan and Mithos looked at each other.

"I am no one's babysitter." Mithos said bitterly. Yuan shrugged.

"Okay, I'll watch him." He said, walking in the direction of Lloyd's room. Mithos paused.

"Wait for me!" he called, running after Yuan. Yuan shook his head.

"What is it with you and kids?" He asked sarcastically. Mithos crossed his arms.

"I could ask you the same thing."

On the way to Lloyd's room, they found the three year old Aurion walking around the halls. 

Yuan walked up to him and picked him up.

"Lloyd, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for daddy." Lloyd answered sleepily. Yuan smiled.

"Your dad's busy. We're going to watch you for a while." Yuan told him. Lloyd nodded.

"So," Mithos started, "what do you want to do?"

'_I'm really going to regret letting him ask that question, aren't I?'_ Yuan thought.

Lloyd smiled mischievously. "Show me more of Cruxis!" Lloyd commanded excitedly. Yuan sweat dropped.

"Alright. Lets go."

---

"What's that?" Lloyd asked. Mithos looked in the direction Lloyd was pointing.

"That's the warp-pad that leads to my castle." he explained. "We used it before, remember?"

"Why do you have a castle, uncle Mithos?"

"To make himself feel important." Yuan said dismissively. Mithos grabbed his ponytail and pulled on it. "Ouch! Mithos! I told you to stop that!" Yuan yelled.

"And I told you to stop making stupid comments!"

"… they're all true…" _yank _"Ouch! Mithos!"

Mithos grinned.

Lloyd watched them. Mithos and Yuan glared at each other. "You two are weird…" Lloyd said. They looked at him.

"… we know." Yuan said in a defeated tone.

"Speak for yourself." Mithos added.

--- Back on Symphonia…

Kratos walked around the cliff by the Iselia human ranch. He looked at the grave a few feet away and saw someone standing in front of it.

"Hello?" Kratos called. The dwarf looked up.

"Hello." he said. "What brings you here?"

Kratos looked at the grave. "… My wife." he said quietly.

"Ah. I'm sorry to hear that." he said. Kratos nodded sadly and set the flowers he had brought at the grave, noticing flowers already there. "I put those there."

Kratos cocked his head. "Why? You didn't have anything to do with her…"

"Well, if it were me, I would want someone to do it for me."

Kratos nodded sadly. "Thank you." he paused. "You wouldn't have happened to see a… dog around here, would you?" he asked. The dwarf smiled.

"Ah, he's yours? I found him at the base of the cliff. He was hurt, so I took care of him. He's at my house. Come with me, I'll take you to him."

Kratos sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Kratos followed the dwarf to a small house in the middle of a clearing.

"My name's Dirk, by the way." he said.

"… Kratos."

"Well, Kratos, there's your dog over there." he said, pointing to the side of the house where Noishe was laying, curled up in the sun.

Noishe looked up as they walked over. He whined and walked over to Kratos, limping slightly. Kratos looked at him guiltily. He ran his hand over Noishe's head.

"I'm so sorry I left you, Noishe." he said quietly, kneeling down in front of the protozoan. Noishe pushed his head against Kratos' neck, whining happily. Kratos smiled slightly.

"Why don't you come in?" Dirk offered. Kratos stood up.

"That's really not necessary." he said.

"I insist."

Kratos paused and followed Dirk inside. He sat down at a small table and Dirk sat across from him.

"Why don't you tell me what happened? You seem like you have a story to tell."

Kratos looked away.

"Of course, you don't have to."

"… We were attacked by desians. My wife died, Noishe fell down the cliff, and my baby son was hurt pretty badly…"

Dirk sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that." he said. "How's your son?"

"Lloyd. He's fine, now."

"That's good. It must have been hard on him…" Dirk said quietly.

"He can't remember it…" Kratos told him. He stood up. "He keeps asking about her. I don't know what to tell him… I just want to protect him… I think I go to far sometimes, though…" Kratos said, wondering why he was telling all of this to a complete stranger.

"My opinion might not count for much, but if you want to protect him, you should just let him live his life. Don't try to protect him, let him stand on his own two feet."

"… I should be going. I left Lloyd with some friends of mine."

Dirk smiled. "I understand. I'll take care of the grave, if you want me to."

"I would really appreciate that. Thank you... For all your help…"

"No problem."

They walked outside. "Lets go, Noishe." Kratos called. Noishe limped up to him.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Dirk told him.

"Thank you."

"You don't have to keep saying that. It would be my pleasure."

Kratos nodded. He headed back in the direction of Anna's grave, with Noishe right behind him. He paused at the grave. He knelt down in front of it and smiled. "I promise, I'll take care of Lloyd." he whispered. Noishe whined and put his nose against the grave. Kratos got up and made his way back to the warp-pad.

---

"What's this, uncle Mithos?" Lloyd asked, pointing to a computer.

"That controls a prototype for a mana cannon." Mithos said. Lloyd looked at him like he way crazy.

"A what?" he asked. Mithos sweat dropped.

"It shoots mana at things."

Yuan, Mithos, and Lloyd looked over to see who had spoken. They saw Kratos standing in the doorway.

"Daddy!" Lloyd called, waiting as Mithos put him down. He ran up to his father and hugged his leg. "Where were you, daddy?"

"I was… with a friend." Kratos said. "Did you keep Mithos and Yuan out of trouble?"

"Yep!"

Mithos and Yuan sweat dropped. They walked over to Kratos while Lloyd ran off to play with one of the computers.

"So, did you find Noishe?" Yuan asked. Kratos nodded.

"I found Noishe, and did a few other things."

Yuan cocked his head. "Other things?"

"Daddy, what does this do?" Lloyd called. The three looked over at Lloyd and saw him hitting buttons on the computer.

"Lloyd! Don't do that!" Kratos called. Mithos shrugged.

"Leave him alone. He can't do any real damage."

"…"

Lloyd hit a big red button, causing a bunch of lights to start flashing. The screen started flashing and an alarm started going off.

"Whoops…" Lloyd said innocently. There was a loud bang and Lloyd jumped about a foot in the air. The lights stopped flashing and everything got quiet. Yuan walked over to the computer and started typing. After a few minutes, Kratos gave Mithos an annoyed look.

"You were saying?" He said. Mithos sweat drooped.

"That made a big boom!" Lloyd cheered. "Lets do it again!" He said, running to the computer.

"Freeze!" Yuan called, grabbing the back of the toddler's shirt. "I don't think so."

"Aw…" Lloyd pouted, crossing his arms.

Pronyma walked in and looked at Mithos.

"Um… Lord Yggdrasill? We have a problem…" she said nervously. Mithos looked at her.

"What?"

"There was a mana blast… and it kind of hit the chosen of regeneration…" she said.

Kratos smacked his forehead as Lloyd laughed. " '_Oh, leave him alone. He can't do any real damage…' _" Kratos mocked, "Is killing a chosen real enough for you?!"

"We need to make Derris-Kharlan child-proof, Mithos." Yuan said.

"Well, how destructive can one little kid be?!" Mithos yelled.

"You never met Anna, did you?" Kratos commented, resisting the urge to laugh as he remembered some of Anna's 'destructive moments.' "He does take after his mother." he continued, taking Lloyd from Yuan.

Mithos sighed. "Great… who's next in line?"

"Some girl from Iselia. I heard she's a klutz…" Yuan said as he read off of the computer screen. Mithos sighed.

"Just what we need. Maybe Lloyd can kill her too…" he said.

"Actually, she kind of reminds me of you as a little kid, Mithos." Yuan said, grinning evilly.

Mithos glared. "Yuan…" he hissed angrily.

Kratos sighed. "Yuan, you need to learn to watch what you say…"

Mithos pulled out his wings. "You're so dead!" Mithos said dangerously. "JUDGMENT!"

"Mithos! Stop it!" Yuan yelled as he ran out of the room. Lloyd watched the judgment attack and smiled.

"That was so cool! Daddy, teach me to do that!" he said happily.

"When you're older." Kratos said. "First, lets go stop uncle Mithos from killing Yuan, okay?"

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**Me: I'm still taking ideas for things Lloyd does in Cruxis. Basically any age.**

**Lloyd: Martel, why?**

**Me: Because I can. Thank you, Kratos's appreintice, for coming up with an idea of how the chosen before Colette died and for your reviews!**

**Lloyd: Please review. **


	4. Lloyd's first Cruxis Christmas

First off, I'm sorry if this offends anyone. I know some people that don't like Christmas fics and stuff… So I'm sorry if anyone has a problem with it for any reason. If anyone has a problem, feel free to skip it. It shouldn't have a big impact on the rest of the story.

**Me: Hey, I'm sorry this is a little late. My computer was down (starts to cry) and I wanted to do a Christmas chapter… So I had to do this as soon as my computer started working again.**

**Lloyd: You've been typing for how long now?**

**Me: …What do you care? And it doesn't help that I'm at my grandma's house for Christmas and I'm being kicked off the computer… So I'm really sorry if this sucks! I tried!**

**I plan on getting the real chapters up really soon. I'm also working on an update for Darkness, Aurion Life, Reliving the Past, and Shards of the Past… And a few more once I finish that. I have most of the ideas done and everything, but I need to type them up.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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Lloyd sat quietly in a corner of Kratos' room on Derris-Kharlan, his arms crossed, pouting. Noishe looked at him and rolled his eyes.

The door opened slowly and Lloyd looked up hopefully, but began to pout again as Yuan entered.

"Hey, Lloyd." He said. He paused at the look on Lloyd's face. "What's wrong with you?"

"Humph." Lloyd pouted. Yuan rolled his eyes.

"Bad mood today, huh?" he said. "Where's your dad?"

"I don't know…" Lloyd said, a hint of sadness in his voice. Yuan paused.

"Did something happen?" Yuan asked. Lloyd looked away.

"No…"

"…" Yuan sat on Kratos' bed. "Come here, Lloyd." he said. Lloyd paused before obeying. He climbed onto the bed and sat on Yuan's lap. "What's wrong?"

"…"

"Oh great, It's the classic Aurion quote." Yuan muttered. Lloyd rested his head on Yuan's chest sadly. Yuan paused and put his hand on Lloyd's back. "Lloyd?"

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Yuan and Lloyd looked up as Kratos walked in.

"I'm back, Lloyd." he said, before looking up at Yuan. "Oh, so this is where you were…" He said absentmindedly. Yuan looked from Lloyd to Kratos, a confused look on his face. "Um, Yuan, may I speak with you for a second?" He asked.

Yuan sat Lloyd off to the side and got up. Once he was within reach, Kratos grabbed his arm and pushed him out the door. "Lloyd, we'll be right back." he said, closing the door.

Once outside, Yuan pulled his arm away from Kratos. "What the hell was that for?" he asked. Kratos paced back and forth.

"I have a problem, Yuan." He said.

"Well, the first step is admitting it, Kratos." Yuan replied. Kratos glared. Yuan sighed. "I'm assuming this involves Lloyd in some way?"

"Doesn't it always?" someone commented behind him. Kratos and Yuan looked over and saw Mithos standing behind them. "When does Kratos do ANYTHING that doesn't involve Lloyd?"

"Good point." Yuan commented. Kratos sighed.

"Guys, problem. Now."

"What's wrong?" Mithos asked.

"Lloyd looked really upset…" Yuan said in an uncomfortable voice.

"It wasn't my fault this time." Mithos said proudly, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest.

"Yes, it was." Kratos said in an annoyed voice. Mithos glared.

"How?!"

"You don't celebrate here." Kratos said simply, beginning to pace again.

"Celebrate what?" Yuan asked.

"Christmas!" Kratos said, annoyed.

"Duh." Mithos remarked. "You knew that."

"It never even occurred to me." Kratos continued. "Lloyd always celebrated Christmas with his mother…"

Yuan and Mithos fell silent.

"What do we do?"

"… I don't know…" Mithos said.

"Well, we have to do something!" Yuan said. "I hate seeing him sad like that!"

"Oh, and I enjoy it?!" Kratos snapped.

"… Hey, guys?" Mithos said.

"I know you hate it too! I was just saying!" Yuan snapped back.

"Guys?"

"I know what I'm doing Yuan." Kratos said.

"Well, apparently you don't. If you did, we wouldn't have this problem."

"Guys…"

"No one asked you, Yuan! If you-"

"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!!" Mithos screamed. The other two looked at him. "You two are unbelievable! How about you stop yelling and we fix this problem?!"

"How?" Yuan asked.

"Why don't we just have Christmas here?" He suggested. Yuan and Kratos looked at each other.

"… Why didn't you think of that?" they both asked. Mithos sweat dropped.

"Well, if we're going to pull this off, we have to hurry. Let's go!"

"… And to think, he use to be such a Scrooge…" Kratos muttered.

"Shut up, Kratos!" Mithos yelled back. Yuan and Kratos smiled to each other.

Kratos paused and opened his door back up. "Lloyd, we're going to be back in a little while, okay?"

Lloyd looked up sadly. "But, daddy-!"

Kratos smiled. "Don't worry, Lloyd. We'll be back soon, with a big surprise for you."

Lloyd paused with a thoughtful look on his face before he smiled. "Okay. Bye, daddy!" He said happily. Kratos smiled again.

"Stay in the room until I get back, got it?"

"Got it!"

Kratos laughed slightly and closed the door.

"Lets get going." Yuan said, smiling.

---

"Ok," Kratos said, looking at a sheet of paper. "We need a tree, gifts, a Santa, Snow-"

"How are you going to get snow?" Mithos asked doubtfully.

"A Santa?" Yuan asked nervously. Kratos and Mithos grinned evilly at him.

"I think we'll be getting that the same way we did 4000 something years ago, huh Kratos?" Mithos asked.

"Like I would ever pass up another blackmail opportunity like that!" Kratos smirked, holding up an old camera.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yuan screamed, trying to run away, but Mithos and Kratos tackled him and pinned him down.

"You wouldn't want to disappoint your favorite nephew, would you?" Mithos said.

"Lloyd would be so sad…" Kratos added. Yuan banged his head on the floor.

"Why me?! WHY, MARTEL?! WHY?!?!?!?!?!"

"So you'll do it?!" Mithos asked excitedly. Yuan banged his head harder.

"That's a yes!" Mithos said, getting off of him. Kratos got up too.

"Thank you, Yuan." Kratos said quietly, smiling at his friend.

"Why me…? Why?" Yuan muttered.

"Yuan, you got blood on my floor!" Mithos complained, pointing to the spot where Yuan had been banging his head. Yuan glared, pulled out a weapon, and chased after Mithos, who had ran off as soon as he sensed danger.

Kratos sighed. "It's all for Lloyd. It's all for Lloyd…" He repeated to himself.

---

"So, what are we going to do about snow?" Mithos asked as the three walked through Welgaia. Kratos grinned at Yuan.

"We have that taken care of."

"Yep!" Yuan said evilly. Mithos stopped and slowly turned to the two.

"… What are you two up to…?" He asked suspiciously. Kratos and Yuan grinned and each grabbed one of Mithos' arms.

"Nothing. Nothing…" Yuan said.

"Don't worry about a thing, Mithos." Kratos added.

"Oh hell…" Mithos muttered.

Yuan smiled evilly. "Okay, guys!" He yelled.

Silence followed. Mithos ducked slightly.

"… Nothing happened…" He said.

"…" Kratos and Yuan stayed silent.

"Guys?"

"… Guardian." The two yelled.

"Blizzard!" About 30 different voices yelled.

The two guardians came up as about 4 feet of snow fell from the sky. Mithos, who hadn't been expecting it, was covered in snow.

Mithos shook, knocking a ton of snow off of himself, and glared forward. Yuan and Kratos smiled happily. Kratos messed up Mithos' hair, knocking snow out of it.

"Great job." Kratos said. A large group of angels looked down from a roof.

"No problem!" They yelled. Mithos glared up at them.

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" he screamed, causing Yuan and Kratos to Laugh.

---

"Next?" Mithos asked irritably. Kratos grinned at him before looking at his list.

"… A tree?" He said, turning to Yuan, who shrugged.

"Why not?"

"So, back to Sylvarant?" Yuan asked.

"Yep." Kratos answered, pushing his list into his pocket.

"Time to go."

---

Walking through the Iselia forest, Kratos and Yuan stopped.

"Find anything that could work?" Yuan asked. Kratos shook his head.

"Nothing… Where's Mithos?" He asked suspiciously.

"If he went back without us, I'll kill him. It's cold!" Yuan complained. "If I'm going to be out here, so will he!"

Kratos rolled his eyes. "You're an angel. You can't feel the cold!" He yelled.

"… Oh yeah." Yuan said. Kratos smacked his forehead.

"Hey guys!"

They turned to see Mithos dragging a tree behind him.

"Hey, way to go Mithos!" Yuan said excitedly.

"…" Kratos looked suspiciously at the tree.

"Okay, lets get this back to Welgaia." Mithos said.

"I don't think so." Kratos said, turning away. Mithos glared.

"Why?"

Kratos walked away, shrugging. "Because that's not a tree." he said simply.

"Not a tree?" Mithos repeated. Yuan took a closer look.

"Oh, shit…" he muttered. "Mithos! That's a monster!" He said, running off. Mithos paused.

"… What?" he asked. He turned around and saw the monster behind him getting up. "… Hell…"

"Mithos! Come on!" Yuan yelled. Mithos turned around and ran after his friends.

"You jerks! You two have weapons! Get back here and kill it, dammit!"

---

Several hours (and fights) later, Kratos sighed.

"Finally done." he said. Yuan and Mithos collapsed onto the snowy ground.

"Ahh!" Yuan exclaimed, jumping back up. Kratos sighed.

"For the last time, Yuan… YOU CAN NOT FEEL THE COLD!"

"… I knew that." he responded, sitting back down, embarrassed.

"Well, we are missing one more thing…" Kratos said, grinning at Yuan.

Yuan sighed. "I'm going. I'm going…" he muttered, sulking away.

"… Does he ever stop complaining?" Mithos asked.

"How long have you known him?" Kratos responded.

"Right…"

---

"Daddy, where are you taking me?" Lloyd asked, his eyes covered by a blindfold.

"You'll see."

"But, daddy, I want to know now." Lloyd said playfully.

"Well, you'll just have to live with it." Kratos responded in the same playful tone.

Once in Welgaia, Kratos stopped.

"Okay, Lloyd."

Lloyd reached off and pulled the blindfold down. "Daddy…" he whispered. Kratos smiled. Lloyd looked around in disbelief.

All of Welgaia was covered in snow, lights, and Christmas decorations. A huge, 10 foot tree was right in the middle, gifts pilled under it. Angels were coming out and looking around. A few angel children were building snowmen or making snow angels with their wings.

"Daddy… It's…" Lloyd said.

"Merry Christmas, Lloyd." Kratos said.

"Daddy!" Lloyd jumped up and wrapped his arms around his dad's neck. "Thank you, daddy!"

"You're welcome, Lloyd." Kratos said, hugging his son back.

"Merry Christmas!" Mithos said, walking up behind them.

"Thanks for the help, Mithos." Kratos said. Mithos shrugged.

"It was nothing." Mithos said. "Anything to see Yuan like THAT again." he whispered to Kratos, who smiled.

Mithos turned and walked away. Lloyd chased after him. "Uncle Mithos, I need help with something!" Lloyd called. Mithos turned to look at him.

"What is it?"

"…" Lloyd motioned for Mithos to pick him up. Mithos lifted him into his arms and Lloyd whispered something into his ear.

"… Okay. I guess I can help with that." Mithos agreed, making Lloyd smile.

"Thank you!" Mithos smiled back.

"No problem."

Lloyd grabbed Mithos' hand and pulled him the other direction.

---

"Where did Lloyd go?" Kratos wondered aloud.

"I'm going to kill you…" someone muttered. Kratos turned to see Yuan dressed as Santa. He fought off the urge to laugh.

"Hey, Yuan. Nice outfit. It's been what- 4000 years?" He said, grinning. Yuan glared. "Hey, have you seen Lloyd?"

"No, why?"

"He disappeared with Mithos a while ago…"

"Daddy!"

Kratos turned in time to catch his son, who had been running up behind him, carrying a box behind him. Mithos walked up behind him and stood behind Yuan.

"Hey, Santa still has blue hair!" He exclaimed. Yuan glared.

"Death, Mithos Yggdrasill. Slow. Painful. Death."

"Lloyd, where were you" Kratos asked. Lloyd smiled.

"Here, daddy!"

Kratos paused as the small box was pushed in front of his face. "What's this?"

"A present!"

Kratos paused and put Lloyd down, looking at the small red and green box.

"Uncle Mithos helped me wrap it." Lloyd admitted. Kratos smiled and messed with Lloyd's hair.

He took the lid off the box and reached in, pulling out a small brown teddy bear with a tiny pink ribbon around it's neck.

"It was mommy's. She said she got it when she was little… I was playing with it the day mommy died, so it was in my stuff…" Lloyd said. Kratos turned to him.

"Your mothers?" he repeated. Lloyd nodded.

"See? It's a gift from me and mommy!" Lloyd said happily. Kratos paused. He looked at the lid of the box and saw 'To daddy, from Lloyd and Mommy' written on it. "Do you like it, daddy?"

"…" Kratos picked up his son and hugged him. "Yes, Lloyd. Thank you so much."

Lloyd smiled and hugged his dad back. "You're welcome. I love you, daddy."

"I love you too, Lloyd."

---

"Lloyd! Make your dad stop!" Yuan, who was still dressed as Santa, cried, running away from said angel, who had just been given a video camera by Mithos.

"Sorry, Uncle Yuan!" Lloyd called. Mithos was on the ground, laughing. "Hey, Uncle Mithos?"

"What, Lloyd?" Mithos asked, once he had stopped laughing enough to speak.

"Next year, I want to help." Lloyd said, a determined look on his face.

Mithos smiled. "You're a good kid, Lloyd." He messed up Lloyd's hair. "Take care of your dad, okay?"

Lloyd smiled. "I will!"

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

**Me: I hope you enjoyed it. Not my best, I know, but I tried with the limited time I had…**

**Lloyd: Please review. More FASTER updates on the way! ... I hope...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Me: I'm back! Sorry, I know I promised you earlier updates… We've had a few problems going on at home. Or at least I have.**

**Kratos: Like what?**

**Me: Nothing for you to worry about. I'll sort it out. Anyway, right now I'm more concerned with the Dawn of the New World release.**

**Kratos: What?**

**Lloyd: Oh yeah, I figured you'd be looking into that.**

**Me: Of course! But I have to stop as soon as it comes out in Japan. I'm fine with knowing what's released before the game, but as soon as it actually comes out I don't want any spoilers.**

**Kratos: What are you two talking about?**

**Me: Maybe you'd know if you didn't run off to play on your stupid comet.**

**Kratos: …**

**Lloyd: You know, technically he's the narrator, so he should know what we're talking about. **

**Me: Know it all… Wow, I never thought I'd say that to Lloyd…**

**Lloyd: Well, it's true- Wait! Hey! What's that suppose to mean?!**

**Me: Nothing.**

**Lloyd: Fine. Whatever. I've got stuff to do. See you later dad. (leaves)**

**Emil: (randomly runs in) I'LL KILL YOU, LLOYD IRVING!! (runs after Lloyd)**

**Kratos: O.o Who was that?!**

**Me: (not really paying attention) Huh? Oh, that's Emil. He's trying to kill your son.**

**Kratos: WHAT?! WHY?!**

**Me: Something about him destroying Palmacosta and killing his parents or some other such nonsense.**

**Kratos: O.o I leave for two years and this is what happens?!**

**Me: Yep. Now, will you do the disclaimer, please?**

**Kratos: I don't have time for that! I have to go help my son!**

**Me: Is refusing to do the disclaimer going to help him?**

**Kratos: Agreeing to do it isn't going to help him either.**

**Me: It'll get you out of here quicker.**

**Kratos: She owns nothing. She is, however, holding me here against my will.**

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

It was the middle of the night, and completely silent in Kratos' room. Kratos' door opened slowly, and someone made their way over to his bed.

Kratos was awoken by a small movement on his bed. He stayed still and silent as something moved closer to him. When he felt something wrap itself around his neck, he instinctively got ready to attack, before recognizing the short brown hair in is face and the tiny arms around his neck.

He sighed quietly and put his hand on his son's back. "Lloyd, it's the middle of the night. Go back to your room." he instructed in a whisper. The only response he received was his son's head quickly shaking back and forth. Kratos sighed again. _'Anna told me this day would come. It's the beginning of Lloyd's I-want-to-sleep-in-mommy-and-daddy's-bed phase…' _he thought sarcastically. He tried moving Lloyd off from on top of him, but found that he couldn't, due to Lloyd's grip around his neck.

"Lloyd, let go. You're chocking me." Kratos said quietly. After a short pause, Lloyd reluctantly released his father's neck and took to clinging to his arm instead. Kratos paused. _'Well, he's cutting off the circulation in my arm, but it's a start.'_ He shifted Lloyd so he was laying on his side next to him. Lloyd continued to cling to Kratos' arm, but Kratos didn't mind. He took his free arm and ran his hand through Lloyd's hair until his son had fallen asleep.

A few hours later, Kratos was awoken again; This time, by a quiet sound. He paused and listened, trying to figure out where it was coming from before realizing that it was Lloyd. _'He's whimpering in his sleep…'_ he realized. He suddenly felt Lloyd digging his nails into his arm.

"Ow!" Kratos whispered. He quickly grabbed Lloyd and pulled him closer. "Lloyd, wake up."

Lloyd fell silent after a few seconds and slowly released his grip on his father. "Daddy?" he said uncertainly.

"It's me." Kratos said. "I've got you. You're fine." Kratos sat up slowly and pulled Lloyd into his lap. "Are you alright?"

Lloyd nodded slowly. "I had a bad dream…"

"… Do you want to tell me about it?" Kratos offered. Lloyd shook his head.

"No."

"…" Kratos sighed quietly. "Alright. Go back to sleep."

Lloyd nodded before closing his eyes.

--

"And he never told you what it was about?" Mithos asked, leaning back in the huge chair in his office and putting his feet on his desk. Kratos, who was leaning against the wall at the other end of the room with his arms crossed, shook his head.

"No. He wouldn't tell me anything."

"Well, we can probably assume it was about the day he was attacked." Yuan guessed. "He was pretty traumatized by it, remember?"

"I don't need you to tell me that, Yuan." Kratos replied bitterly. "He wasn't exactly the only one, you know."

"There's nothing we can do about that now." Mithos cut in. "We can't change it now that it's happened. We have to find some way to deal with it." Kratos glared at him. "Don't give me that look, Kratos." Mithos warned.

"We need to find some way to make him feel safe again." Yuan said. Kratos and Mithos nodded.

"But how?" Kratos pondered.

"We could teach him to use a sword." Mithos suggested. "He might feel more safe if he knew he could defend himself if he was ever in trouble."

"No." Kratos snapped. Mithos looked at him with a challenging glare. Kratos returned it with one of his own. "No way. Not even if hell froze over."

"Kratos, be reasonable." Yuan said. One look from Kratos silenced him.

Mithos sighed and tried again. "Come on. You taught me when I was young."

"You were twelve. He's three." Kratos reminded him. "Apparently I should have spent less time working on your swordsmanship and more time on your math skills and common sense."

Mithos glared angrily. "Well, despite the fact that you're an ass," Yuan shook his head and Kratos glared as Mithos continued "you were a good teacher. And Lloyd respects you. Regardless of his age, I think he might benefit from it."

Kratos continued to glare, but the anger in his eyes slowly subsided. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't want Lloyd getting caught up in something like this. I don't know what I'd do if something ever happened to him…"

"I do. You'd kill yourself." Yuan said simply. Kratos shot him an annoyed look.

"Wait! So you don't want Lloyd to learn to fight because you're afraid he'll get hurt, but it was perfectly okay for me?!" Mithos yelled with a mixture of anger and mock hurt. "What the hell, Kratos!"

Kratos rolled his eyes and turned to Yuan. "Help me out here?"

Yuan paused and gave Kratos a serious look. "Actually, I agree with Mithos."

Kratos and Mithos both looked at him with disbelief. Yuan crossed his arms and leaned against the wall in a very Kratos-like fashion. "I think Lloyd should be taught to defend himself."

"He's just a child!" Kratos protested.

"It's not like I'm saying 'give him a sword and leave him in the middle of a monster infested field'. I'm not even saying we need to let him touch a sword at all." Yuan explained, keeping his gaze steady and on Kratos. "Just let him see you defend yourself. Let him get an idea of how to protect himself. How to handle himself in a dangerous situation. That way, if he's ever in one, he'll be able to picture you and know how to react."

Silence covered the room as Kratos avoided the eyes of his two fellow seraphim. Yuan continued to watch him with serious eyes while Mithos stared at his former master, somewhat hopefully. Eventually, Kratos gave a defeated sigh, causing Mithos to grin triumphantly.

"I guess we could give it a try." Kratos conceded.

Mithos cheered and left the room, pumping his fist in the air victoriously and calling back, "I'm gonna go get Lloyd."

Kratos sighed and face palmed. "Why do I get the feeling I've condemned us all to death?"

Yuan walked over to him and pat him on the back. "Because when you put Mithos, Lloyd, and dangerous weapons in a room together, it's a pretty accurate statement."

Kratos sighed and turned to his cape-obsessed companion. "Do you think there's still time to stop him?"

"No." Yuan said simply, before grinning at Kratos. "Besides, if Mithos is going to be an idiot and get himself killed by a three year old, I want to watch."

Kratos sweat dropped. "Martel would be ashamed of you both."

"Well, what Martel doesn't know is more fun for me." Yuan said playfully, getting behind Kratos and literally pushing him out the door.

--

"Alright, get to work, Teach." Mithos said playfully, smiling mischievously. Kratos looked over at Mithos and Lloyd. Lloyd had a very familiar look on his face.

"Yuan, should I be worried that Lloyd's developing Mithos' evil smile?" he whispered.

"Probably." Yuan responded. "But for now, one problem at a time."

Mithos crossed his arms and pouted impatiently, snapping "What are you waiting for?!"

"You to get off your lazy butt and pick up a sword!" Kratos snapped back, causing Lloyd to laugh. "How do you expect me to defend myself if nothing is attacking me?!"

"Oh, right." Mithos said, standing up and pulling out his sword. Yuan blinked at him.

"Where were you hiding that thing?"

"Shut up, Yuan." Mithos snapped, yanking on Yuan's pony tail, which earned him a shout of pain from the seraph and one of laughter from Lloyd, along with a sigh from Kratos.

"Mithos, if you wouldn't mind…?" he said.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Mithos replied uninterestedly. He held up his sword and charged at Kratos, who gave him a slightly surprised look before stepping to the side and easily dodging the attack.

"Have you trained at all in the past 4000 years? Your moves weren't that unrefined during our first training session."

Mithos growled at him. "Shut up you a-"

"Mithos, language!" Yuan interrupted, glancing down at Lloyd who was now sitting in his lap giving his father and Mithos a puzzled look. Mithos glared, but fell silent.

"Perhaps we should continue, Mithos?" Kratos suggested. Mithos gave him an annoyed sigh before raising his sword again.

Lloyd covered his eyes, peeking through his fingers as Mithos charged at his father. "Daddy, Look out!" he yelled as Kratos raised his own sword and easily deflected Mithos'. Lloyd slowly lowered his hands. He smiled and clapped his hands as his father smiled at him. "Again! Again!"

Kratos chuckled happily at his son, earning him a slightly surprised smile from Yuan. "Lloyd makes his daddy happy." he whispered to the toddler sitting in his lap. Lloyd looked up at him and giggled happily.

"Yuan, what are you telling him?" Kratos asked suspiciously.

"Nothing." Yuan replied in a mock-guilty tone. Kratos began to reply, but was cut off by Mithos swinging a sword at him. He jumped back and counted attacked, causing Lloyd to laugh excitedly.

What had started out as a small lesson for Lloyd quickly turned into a battle between former student and master. After a few hours of fighting, Lloyd and Yuan eventually got bored with it. Lloyd was now attempting to read a book upside down while Yuan looked at it over the child's head. Yuan sighed and looked from the two fighting angels to his watch and back.

"Are you two planning on finishing this up today?" he asked impatiently. Kratos and Mithos stopped and looked at him. "Lloyd's not even paying attention anymore." he added.

Lloyd looked up from the book and smiled at his dad. Kratos smiled and sheathed his sword.

"I suppose we're finished, Mithos?" he said. Mithos sighed and sheathed his short sword too, leaning it against the wall. Lloyd jumped up and ran to his father, clinging to his leg.

"My turn!" Lloyd said excitedly. Kratos picked him up.

"I don't think so Lloyd." he said. Lloyd crossed his arms and pouted. "Maybe when you're older." Kratos told him. Lloyd smiled and motioned for his father to put him back down.

"So, Kratos," Yuan said in a teasing voice as he joined Kratos and Mithos, "how bad is Mithos' sword style after 4000 years of slacking off?" Mithos glared at him and pulled on his ponytail. "Ow! Mithos! Cut that out!"

Lloyd walked over to Mithos' sword propped against the wall. He looked up at it excitedly before sliding it down and laying it on the ground so he could pull it from it's sheath.

"Actually, he could easily improve his skills with a bit more training." Kratos told Yuan. "It looks to me like he's just gotten rusty over the past few thousand years."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Mithos yelled.

Lloyd pulled out the sword and lifted it above his head, but it just arched over top of him and embedded itself in the ground. Lloyd pulled on it until it released itself from the ground.

"Why don't you try training him again, Kratos?" Yuan suggested. Kratos stayed silent while Mithos pulled on Yuan's ponytail again. "Ow! Stop doing that you little brat!" He yelled, resulting on his hair being pulled on again.

Lloyd tried to balance Mithos' sword, but failed and watched as it arched over his head and fell toward Yuan and Mithos.

_Slice_

Mithos and Kratos froze and looked at Yuan. Lloyd released the sword's hilt and broke the silence by muttering "whoops".

Yuan stayed silent as he felt his hair fall around his now pale white face and end just below his ears. Mithos, who was still holding part of Yuan's ponytail looked like he was about to start laughing, but his mouth was quickly covered by Kratos who whispered "Mithos, don't you dare.".

"Kratos…" Yuan muttered. "Do I want to look?"

"I doubt it…" Kratos muttered. He looked down as Lloyd hid behind his leg, looking ready to cry.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Yuan…" he whispered guiltily. Yuan silently stood up and walked away. Kratos and Mithos watched him with looks of disbelief.

"He… took that well…" Kratos said. "I expected him to explode.

"There's no way that's it." Mithos complained, dropping the remainder of Yuan's hair onto the ground. He looked back up when he heard a scream in the direction Yuan had just walked, causing him to smile. "Ah. Now that's more like it." he said cheerfully. Kratos rolled his eyes and looked down when something pulled at his cloak. Lloyd looked up at him with tears in his eyes. He picked the toddler up.

"Daddy, did I do something bad?" he asked. Kratos shook his head.

"No, Lloyd. I've actually been trying to get him to cut his hair for years. But no more playing with swords, understand?"

Lloyd nodded. "Is Uncle Yuan mad at me?" he asked.

"No. He's not mad." Kratos reassured him.

"He's just going to go kill himself." Mithos muttered, laughing quietly to himself. Kratos resisted the urge to kick him. Lloyd started squirming in his dad's arms until he was put down, and followed after Yuan.

"Lloyd-"

"Let him go, Kratos." Mithos told him. Kratos looked ready to argue, but stayed silent.

Lloyd peeked around the corner of Yuan's room. Yuan was looking into a mirror with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Uncle Yuan?" Lloyd called. Yuan turned around and looked at Lloyd.

"Oh, Lloyd. You can come in if you want." he said. Lloyd hesitated, but eventually walked into the room. Yuan picked him up and sat him in front of the mirror. "You know, my hair hasn't been this short since before I started dating Martel."

"Aunt Martel?" Lloyd asked. Yuan nodded.

"Yep. But she liked it longer."

"I'm sorry I cut your hair, Uncle Yuan." Lloyd said guiltily.

"It's not your fault, Lloyd." he said, faking a smile. Lloyd looked unconvinced, and Yuan ran a hand through the child's hair. "I'm not mad. You didn't mean to do it."

Lloyd stayed silent, looking guilty. Yuan gave him a mischievous smile.

"You want to make it up to me?" he asked. Lloyd smiled and nodded.

--

Mithos stomped his foot impatiently. "What are those two doing?!"

Kratos sighed. "Relax Mithos. Knowing Lloyd he's apologizing every three seconds and Yuan's trying to calm him down."

Mithos grinned at him. "Feeling jealous?" he asked. Kratos gave him a confused look. "He's learning to come to us with problems instead of searching for you all day. He use to find us and force us to look for you."

Kratos crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Humph."

While the two weren't paying attention, Yuan silently walked up behind Mithos, Lloyd in his arms. Lloyd pulled out a pair of scissors and reached out toward Mithos.

_Snip_

Kratos looked up in time to see half of Mithos' hair fall to the floor and Yuan looking quite pleased with himself. He quickly moved over to where they were standing, grabbed Lloyd, and pulled the scissors out of his hands before Mithos turned around and screamed "I'LL KILL YOU, YUAN!"

Yuan laughed and ran away, Mithos right behind him. Kratos sighed and Lloyd looked up at him.

"Daddy, can I cut your hair too?"

"No." Kratos said flatly. "And no more playing with scissors."

"Ok daddy." Lloyd said.

Mithos tackled Yuan and pinned him to the ground. "YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!" He yelled. Yuan pushed him off and continued running. Kratos rolled his eyes and took Lloyd back to their room, figuring he'd come back in a few hours and see if the two immature seraphim had killed each other yet.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**Me: Alright. I'm done. I plan on locking myself in my room until I finish the next chapter…**

**Lloyd: You're not doing to see daylight for a while, are you?**

**Me: Shut up! I actually have the next six or seven chapters planned, but I'm running into a problem. I'm getting to the point where the chapters are going to start effecting each other, Which means I have to have them in order, but that's the thing. I picture Lloyd doing something at a certain age, but then the next thing he does I picture at a younger age, and it doesn't seem as natural when he's a little older. I'll have to fix his age somehow… I still have one or two chapters before I worry about that, though.**

**Lloyd: Ok then…**

**Me: Oh, and before anyone points out that there's no way in hell Kratos would let Lloyd play with scissors and swords, he also let him play with a big red button that killed a chosen, if you remember. I've actually been thinking about that since I started this chapter. But I finally realized something: It doesn't make sense, but it works for comedy. Also, I'm to tired to care. Where's a huge bag of sugar and caffeine when I need it?**

**Lloyd: Ever try actually sleeping?**

**Me: But if I do that, when am I going to work on these chapters? It's like 3AM right now…**

**Lloyd: …**

**Me: Anyway, thanks for your ideas and reviews! They're always a big help! Oh! And I would like to mention one thing: like I said earlier, I'm going to start avoiding spoilers once Dawn of the New World comes out in Japan in about two weeks, so once it does, ****I would really appreciate it if you would all keep spoilers out of your reviews!** **I'll probably keep updating once it's out, but I'll definitely be cutting back on reading fanfic. And, if I do read one, I'll probably skip author's notes just to be sure I don't accidentally read any spoilers…**

**And one more note: If I'm a usual reviewer on some of your stories and I've suddenly gotten really quiet, please don't take it personally! Like I said, I've had problems at home and I haven't gotten around to reading a lot. And even if I did read something, I haven't really been in a talkative mood, so I probably haven't been reviewing. I actually don't think I've reviewed anything for months… I'm making this next week or two focused on fan fiction, so I'll probably be rereading some fanfics and reviewing sometime this week. I'm really sorry if I haven't been reviewing! I feel really bad about it! Please don't hate me!**

**Ok, so review, flame, do whatever you want. It's up to you. I'm going to start working on the next chapter and hopefully get back into a faster rhythm of updating, and improve the quality a bit... I hope…**

**And anyone who actually bothered to read all that nonsense above (which I probably wouldn't have gotten past the second line without figuring it was a pointless string of excuses) gets to press the Chosen-killing button. Why? Because I miss using it…**

**Colette and Zelos: O.o?!**

**EDIT: There was a little mistake in this chapter where Lloyd mixed up Yuan and Mithos' names. (I can't believe I did that!!) Anyway, it's been fixed. Sorry about that!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Me: OMG, I updated! Proving that I'm actually alive! Which I have no right to be because if I was any of my reviewers I'd have killed me by now!**

**Lloyd: I'm confused.**

**Me: Well, that's just you being typical Lloyd. But it's why we love you, so it's fine.**

**Lloyd: So what have you been doing for the last 5 months that kept you from updating?**

**Me: … Obsessing…**

**Lloyd: Over what?**

**Me: … Nothing. (tries and fails to shut closet that has all my random Code Geass stuff overflowing out of it.)**

**Lloyd: … I'm not even going to ask.**

**Me: It's a great series! (is crushed by CG stuff.)**

**Lloyd: Wait, I thought you finished that in like a week watching the Japanese version. What about the rest of that time you were gone?**

**Me: I'm not really sure. But somehow I ended up with like 4 different versions of this one chapter, that all stopped at about the same place half way through… And one that somehow ended up being this chapter combined with 3 other chapters that had huge gaping holes in it where I got writers block and skipped to another part…**

**Lloyd: …**

**Me: … I don't understand it either. I'm assuming that was the result of tons of sugar and no sleep… Either way I had to spend all week going through each one and trying to create one chapter from them. The worst part is they've been in my computer for months and I just never realized it…**

**Lloyd: ^-^;**

**Me: Anyway... Disclaimer before I say anything else incriminating?**

**Lloyd: She owns nothing.**

**Me: And beware extreme OOC-ness!**

**Lloyd: Even more than usual?**

**Me: That's not the point…**

---

It was a typical night on Derris-Kharlan: dark and silent. The angel city of Welgaia was never exactly active, but at night it gave new meaning to the word lifeless.

Being surrounded by nothing but cold, silvery machines, Kratos noticed, only increased the feeling that he was the sole living creature on the planet. The multiple lights gave the illusion of giving off heat, but in reality only seemed to make the room feel colder.

Kratos absentmindedly ran a hand over one of the large machines that had been salvaged from the Kharlan War Era. His eyes were repeatedly drawn to a small, round machine that was glowing red, try as he might to ignore it. He glanced up at a large monitor that displayed information being sent from the device. Stats rapidly appeared across the screen as the device analyzed the small object inside it. Kratos turned his eyes back to the device itself, crossing his arms and giving it an impatient look.

The room fell silent. Kratos had noticed over the years that things around Derris-Kharlan often were quieter than the two worlds. He assumed it was due to the fact that almost everyone there had angelic hearing. Only the Desian Grand Cardinals, who, despite not being angels, preferred to stay on Derris-Kharlan for reasons he could never figure out, didn't share the other's heightened senses. And, of course, Lloyd.

"Hey, Kratos!" someone yelled in a playful voice that only children ever used, drawing out the name. Kratos jumped as the silence surrounding him was shattered by the loud voice. He quickly spun around and looked up at another of the large monitors, where an image of Yuan's head had appeared, twice as big as his usual height. He had a curious look on his face while Kratos glared daggers at him.

"Was that really necessary?" Kratos asked in annoyance. Yuan gave him a clueless look.

"What are you doing? It's two in the morning." Yuan said. Kratos rolled his eyes.

"I'm working. You may not recognize it, seeing as it's something you and Mithos have never actually done."

Yuan raised an eyebrow as he looked down from the monitor. "Are you in the exsphere lap?" he asked in a surprised tone. Kratos scowled and turned away.

"Yuan, I'm very busy. I don't have time to deal with you right now. So I would appreciate it if you would just leave me…" he turned around and noticed that the monitor now showed nothing but an empty wall. "alone…" Kratos finished his statement in a low voice. Seconds later, the door slid open and Yuan walked into the room, wearing a simpler version of his usual outfit, minus the cape.

"You are here." He said in a slightly surprised tone. Kratos sighed.

"What do you want, Yuan?"

Yuan crossed his arms and gave him a puzzled look. "The computer in my room said one of the labs were being used, but I never expected to find you here."

"You didn't answer my question." Kratos said. "What do you want?"

"I was just curious." Yuan said with a shrug. "No one's ever working at this hour."

Kratos crossed his arms and leaned back against one of the computers, a thought coming to him. "Have you ever wondered why Derris-Kharlan gets like this at night?" he questioned. "Though they can, the angels technically don't have to sleep. But they do anyway."

"Probably for the same reason we did back during the war. It was just a habit." Yuan said simply. Kratos gave an uninterested shrug, as if the answer had bored him.

"I suppose. It certainly makes it easier to get work done. There are no distractions." He gave Yuan a playful grin. "That is, until annoying, blue haired, cape obsessed half-elves come in to pester me."

Yuan walked the length of the room, his eyes traveling from one machine to the next. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were talking about me." he said. His eyes were drawn to the glowing device next to Kratos as it glowed brighter before dimming completely. Kratos glanced at it, but didn't move. "What are you working on?"

Kratos looked over at him, but remained silent. The device flashed a green light and Kratos walked over to it, lifting the top off and reaching inside. He pulled out a small stone.

"Is that Anna's Exsphere?" Yuan asked. Kratos closed his hand around it and slipped it into his pocket.

"I figured I'd take the chance to analyze it." Kratos explained.

"Why now?"

"…" Kratos shifted his gaze away and refused to make eye contact with his friend. "I was just making sure there wouldn't be any… _complications_ for the user."

Yuan gave him a suspicious look. "… Are you planning on giving it to-"

"No." Kratos cut him off.

"But you would never let anyone else use it, and you already have a Cruxis Crystal, so that only leaves-"

"We've been through this. I'm not giving it to Lloyd." Kratos said sharply. Yuan gave him a slightly disappointed look.

"How long do you think you can keep this up?" he asked. Kratos turned away. "I understand you not wanting to involve him in our world, but it's getting to the point where normal humans are going to need exspheres just to survive. And I'm sure Anna would be happy knowing that the life she lost was being used to protect the person that _both_ of you cared about more than anything."

Kratos didn't respond. Yuan sighed and, figuring he wasn't going to get anything more from his friend, turned and left without another word.

---

Lloyd walked clumsily through the pitch black halls of Derris-Kharlan, his arms raised in front of him so he wouldn't bump into anything. He hadn't been able to sleep and, once he realized Kratos wasn't in his room, took to exploring the angelic city of Welgaia. The city seemed a lot larger in the dark, and the young toddler was now hopelessly lost.

Lloyd looked at the floor sadly and stopped walking. "I want my daddy…" he muttered to himself. Looking up, he managed to see an open door through the darkness. Walking through it, he bumped into something hard and flinched as it fell to the floor with a loud crash and something soft fell on top of him. Struggling to pull it off of him, he backed out of the room. Once outside, he pulled the object off of him and looked curiously at it.

"What's this?" he asked, fumbling with the soft material in his hands, unable to see what it was. He shrugged and finally decided to take it with him, dragging it along with one hand.

---

Kratos walked back into his dark room at about three in the morning. After glancing in the direction of Lloyd's room to make sure the door was closed, he flipped on the light. Everything was where he had left it.

He lifted the file he had brought back with him from the Exsphere lab and tossed it onto the desk. Before it even reached the surface, however, a loud scream brought his attention back to the direction he had just come from. With his back still to the door, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, momentarily pushing it out of his face before it fell back into place.

"Is Mithos up already?" he muttered to himself. As he heard the scream a second time, he narrowed his eyes. "That's not Mithos…"

He turned and exited the room. Already, curious faces were poking out of rooms and complaints were muffled by closed doors.

Kratos looked over as a door was pulled open and Pronyma stuck her head out.

"Whoever's yelling, shut up!" she yelled furiously. "We're not all angels! Some of us still need our beauty sleep!" She then retreated back to her room and slammed the door behind her. Kratos rolled his eyes.

He stopped a few feet before a door that had random objects flying out of it. He raised an eyebrow and moved closer to it, ducking as a lamp flew past his head.

He reached in and grabbed the collar of the person inside, pulling him out of the room.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kratos asked. Yuan glared back at him and slapped Kratos' hand away.

"Someone stole my cape!" he said angrily. Kratos gave in a confused look.

"Why?"

"How the hell should I know?!" Yuan yelled, storming back into the room. Kratos followed.

The room was completely destroyed. The bed was torn apart and things had been thrown in every direction. It was impossible to move through the mess. Kratos found it hard to believe Yuan even had so many possessions.

"I came back here after talking with you, and it was gone." Yuan said.

"That doesn't mean it was stolen. That just means you're the idiot who misplaced it. _Again._"

"What do you mean 'again'?" Yuan questioned. "I don't misplace anything."

Kratos rolled his eyes. "If it's not your cape, it's your ring. If it's not your ring, it some data or something that you were getting for Mithos. You've lost the Chosen's Cruxis Crystal before, for Mana's sake!"

Yuan glared. "One time."

"Three, actually."

"Well I didn't lose my cape. It was stolen."

"Who would want to steal that stupid thing?" Kratos muttered to himself. Yuan glared at him.

"Shut up."

Kratos picked up a chair that had been thrown across the room and sat down in it. "You know Mithos is going to kill you, right?"

"I'd like to see him try." Yuan said defiantly.

"And then he's going to kill me because somehow, in his warped sense of reality, this is all my fault." he muttered in an annoyed tone. As if on cue, a loud voice cut through the air.

"Kratos! What is the meaning of all this noise?!"

"Told you." Kratos muttered.

Mithos walked through the door and stopped as soon as he saw the mess.

"What the-"

Before he even had time to ask, Kratos explained "Someone stole Yuan's cape."

"Finally!" Mithos cheered, earning a glare from Yuan.

"When I catch whoever took it, they're dead." Yuan muttered angrily, returning to his search.

"If it's stolen, why are you tearing the place apart like you expect to find it?" Mithos questioned.

"That's what I said."

Mithos shrugged. "Then again, since when has anything involving Yuan made sense?"

"Like you're one to talk. Lloyd has more common sense than the two of you combined." Kratos muttered, ducking as something else flew past his head.

"Ass holes." Yuan snapped from the other side of the room.

---

Kratos finally managed to escape from Yuan's room a few hours later. Mithos was still there, arguing with the blue-haired half-elf. Kratos sighed to himself.

"4000 years… How did I put up with that for 4000 years?!"

He walked into his room and looked at the clock. '_Lloyd should be up by now._' he thought, walking toward the door that connected his room to his son's.

He opened the door, but Lloyd wasn't inside.

"Lloyd?" Kratos called. His only response was Noishe looking up at him from the end of the bed, which looked like it hadn't been slept in. "Noishe, where's Lloyd?"

Noishe gave him a look as if to say "How the hell should I know". Kratos gave the protozoan a worried look before leaving the room.

Walking through the halls of Derris-Kharlan, hoping to find some sign of where his son had gone, he was stopped by a voice calling his name.

"Lord Kratos?"

Kratos looked over as Forcystus walked up to him.

"Oh, Forcystus." Kratos said hurriedly. "Did you need something?"

"A few of the angles were asking what all the noise this morning was about." Forcystus explained. "Do you know what it was?"

"Yuan. Someone stole his cape and he decided to make a scene." Kratos said somewhat impatiently, looking frantically around the area.

Forcystus paused. "Is something wrong, my Lord? You seem distracted."

Kratos considered the question for a moment. "… A child has gone missing. I need to find him. Now." he added with a hint of urgency.

Forcystus gave him a surprised look. "A child? What children are in Cruxis?"

"A small boy named Lloyd." Kratos said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find him."

As he turned to leave, Forcystus called him back.

"Lord Kratos?" Kratos paused and allowed the Grand Cardinal to continue. "Early this morning, there was a small child carrying something behind him walking around Derris-Kharlan. I thought it was my imagination, but…"

"Which way was he going?" Kratos asked hopefully.

"Toward the center of Welgaia."

Kratos nodded and continued the way Forcystus had indicated.

---

After what seemed like hours of searching, Kratos had still not found any sign of Lloyd. No one else seemed to have seen him either, and Kratos was growing more frantic by the second. The worried seraph walked past Yuan's door, which random objects were periodically flying out of. Yuan and Mithos could still be heard arguing inside the room, making Kratos stop and walk over to the doorway.

"That's enough! Shut up, both of you!" he screamed, slamming Yuan's door. Yuan and Mithos looked from the door to each other in complete disbelief.

"Did Kratos just…" Mithos started. Yuan nodded, knowing what Mithos was about to say.

"I think he did."

"But Kratos never loses his temper like that unless something's wrong with Lloyd…" Mithos realized, a hint of dread in his voice.

"… You don't think something happened to him, do you?" Yuan asked in the same voice.

"Lets go find Kratos."

---

Lloyd continued to walk along the halls of Derris-Kharlan aimlessly. He had never realized how large Welgaia actually was. He pulled on the familiar cape trailing behind him and continued walking.

The angelic city seemed to be deserted, and yet it was even noisier than usual as annoyed voices echoed off every wall. As he walked through the center of Welgaia, he finally found someone.

He looked up and pointed at the man. "Turtle!" he said in a surprised voice. Rodyle turned around and looked down at him.

"What's a human doing here?" he asked himself, lifting Lloyd up by the back of his shirt.

Lloyd blinked. "Big turtle." he repeated. Rodyle gave him an annoyed look.

"I am not a turtle." he said defiantly. "I am a half-elf. I am also the leader of the Remote Island Human Ranch, you foolish human."

Lloyd laughed at him. "You're a weird turtle."

"I'm not a turtle!"

"You look like a turtle."

"I'm a ruthless half-elf!"

"You're a turtle."

Rodyle was glaring at him when Magnius walked up, a confused look on his face.

"Rodyle, what are you doing with that vermin child?" he asked. Rodyle handed Lloyd over to the Palmacosta ranch leader.

"Take it. I don't want it." Rodyle said, turning away.

Lloyd looked up at Magnius. "Mr. Turtle doesn't like me." he said.

"I'm not a turtle!" Rodyle yelled defiantly. Magnius rolled his eyes.

"You're letting this vermin get to you?"

Lloyd crossed his arms. "You say 'vermin' a lot." Magnius glared at him.

"Be quiet, vermin." he commanded.

"See? Told you."

Magnius glared at him and sat him on the ground. "Vermin…"

"You're a meany head." Lloyd said.

"Vermin."

"Meany."

Magnius bent down so he was on eye level with Lloyd. "Vermin!"

"Meany!" Lloyd yelled back, sticking his tongue out.

Rodyle raised an eyebrow at the two. "Magnius, you do realize you're arguing with a three year old? And losing?"

Magnius glared at him.

"What are you two doing?" someone demanded. Magnius and Rodyle looked up and saw Pronyma walking toward them, Forcystus following a few feet behind her.

Lloyd pointed at Pronyma and yelled, "It's the crazy lady from chapter two!"

The four Desians gave him a puzzled look, but shrugged it off and turned back to one another.

"What are you two doing with an inferior being child?" Pronyma asked accusingly.

Forcystus knelt down in front of Lloyd. "Is this the little boy from this morning?" he asked absentmindedly. Lloyd pulled Yuan's cape closer to him.

"That's the child Lord Yggdrasill was talking about." Pronyma explained. "We're forbidden to harm him."

"I see." Forcystus muttered, playing with Lloyd's hair, eventually making him giggle. "What are you doing here by yourself, then?"

"Mr. Turtle found me." Lloyd said, pointing at Rodyle. "Then Mr. Meany yelled at me." He pointed at Magnius.

"I am not a turtle!"

"Don't call me that, Vermin!"

Pronyma crossed her arms and scowled disapprovingly. "You should both be ashamed of your behavior! Allowing yourselves to be provoked by a human child…"

Lloyd paused and pulled on Magnius' arm until he looked down. "She's bossy."

"She's also slutty…" Magnius muttered. Pronyma glared and Forcystus pulled Lloyd away.

"Lord Magnius!" she snapped at him.

"It's true!" Magnius snapped back.

"You shouldn't speak to your superiors that way, Magnius." Forcystus scolded, sitting on the floor and pulling Lloyd down next to him.

"I'm not about to be scolded by a man sitting on the floor playing with a vermin child." Magnius said in a defiant tone. Forcystus shrugged and ignored him. Lloyd got up and tugged on Magnius' arm again.

"Mr. Meany?" he called. Magnius sighed.

"My name is Magnius." he corrected.

"… Uncle Magni?" Lloyd said.

Magnius gave him an annoyed look. "Did you just call me Uncle Magni…?" he hissed. "It's Mag-ni-us." he said, pronouncing it slowly

"Uncle Magnus…?"

Magnius hung his head. "Whatever. What do you want?"

"Why do you say 'vermin' all the time?"

Magnius paused. "I don't know. I just do." he said in a clueless tone. Pronyma rolled her eyes.

"You have the same brain capacity as the child…"

Magnius growled at her. "Vermin, go play with Forcystus…" he said to Lloyd, his eyes still locked angrily on Pronyma.

Lloyd walked back over to Forcystus and sat back down. "You're Uncle Cystus?" he asked.

"You can call me that."

"I don't see why we're even discussing this in the first place." Rodyle cut in. "Why are we even putting up with this inferior being? We should have dumped him twenty minutes ago when we found him."

"I already told you," Pronyma reminded, "we're not to harm this child."

"What connection does Lord Yggdrasill have with a human child?" Rodyle asked in a stubborn tone.

"He's my uncle." Lloyd interrupted. "Daddy says Mithos Yggdrasill and Yuan are my uncles." he said, pronouncing the two names slowly and carefully.

Forcystus looked at him. "So who's your father?" he asked, realizing he hadn't bothered to ask. "I'm assuming you belong to Lord Kratos?"

"Of course not!" Magnius cut him off. "There's no way Lord Kratos has a son!"

"Kratos is my daddy's name." Lloyd told him. Magnius and Rodyle gave him a shocked look.

"I figured." Forcystus said. "This morning Lord Kratos was looking for a little boy he said was lost. This must be him." he paused. "He said your name was Lloyd?" he asked. Lloyd nodded with a worried look on his face.

"Daddy was looking for me?" Lloyd asked, twisting Yuan's cape between his hands.

"Our lords have been in an uproar all day." Pronyma muttered. "Perhaps it was due to this child's disappearance?"

Forcystus looked at the blue cape still in Lloyd's hands. "That and something else. Why don't we take you back to your dad and uncles?" he suggested. Lloyd nodded and Forcystus picked him up.

"I still don't see why you're helping this kid." Magnius said. Over Forcystus' shoulder, Lloyd stuck his tongue out at him. Magnius did the same before Pronyma snapped at him.

"Stop being so immature!"

---

Yuan and Mithos finally caught up with Kratos.

"Hey, what's going on?" Yuan asked him.

"Lloyd wasn't in his room this morning." Kratos said in a nervous and angry tone.

"What do you mean he wasn't in his room? Where is he?" Mithos asked.

"If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't be searching all of Derris-Kharlan, now would I?" Kratos answered angrily.

"Well, he couldn't have gone far." Mithos said.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you." Kratos replied.

"Where haven't you looked?" Yuan asked. "We can split up and cover more ground."

Mithos gave him an annoyed look. "Actually going to put aside your thief hunt?"

"Lloyd comes first." Yuan replied.

"It doesn't matter anyway." Kratos said. "Find Lloyd and you find your stupid cape. Forcystus said he saw him with it early this morning."

"Lloyd has it?" Yuan said in a surprised voice.

"No! He's been corrupted!" Mithos said sarcastically. "We've lost him to the cape-wearing losers!"

Yuan slapped him in the back of the head, making Mithos reach up to grab Yuan's ponytail, though his hand closed around nothing but air.

"Dammit…" he muttered. Yuan grinned.

"Maybe this does have its advantages." he said, running his hand through his now short hair.

"Either stop screwing around and look for Lloyd, or leave." Kratos snapped, turning to face the two. They fell silent. Kratos turned and continued walking, fumbling nervously with something in his pocket. Yuan noticed and took a few steps forward to stand next to Kratos rather than behind him with Mithos.

"You see? This is exactly what I was talking about this morning." he muttered quietly.

"Now is not the time for this, Yuan." Kratos warned. Yuan ignored him.

"I've said this before, if he doesn't have an exsphere he wont be able to survive here."

"He doesn't need it." Kratos snapped.

"What do you plan to do? Watch his every move for the rest of his life? He has to be able to take care of himself. He needs an exsphere-"

"No he doesn't." Kratos snapped angrily, stopping and turning to face Yuan. "As long as I'm here to keep him safe, he doesn't need it-"

"And what happens when you aren't?" Yuan snapped back. "You can't be by his side forever, Kratos!"

Kratos paused and fell silent, casting his eyes to the ground.

"He needs an exsphere." Yuan continued. "You can't keep doing this."

"Yuan…"

"Give him Anna's exsphere." Yuan said in a commanding voice. Mithos gave the two a surprised look.

"Anna? Lloyd's mother?" he asked. "What about her exsphere?"

"Nothing, Mithos." Kratos told him. "Just forget about it."

Mithos fell silent, leaving his questions for another time.

"Right now we need to find Lloyd." Kratos said. Mithos nodded.

"I don't think we need to worry about Lloyd anymore." Yuan said, pointing behind Kratos and Mithos. They turned to see Forcystus walking toward them with Lloyd on his shoulders.

"Lloyd!" Kratos said in a relieved voice. He ran over and took Lloyd from the Desian Leader, Yuan and Mithos right behind him. He held Lloyd close to him. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm sorry, daddy." Lloyd said guiltily. Kratos smiled and kissed his son's forehead.

"It's okay, Lloyd." He looked up at Forcystus. "Thank you for finding him."

"Where was he?" Yuan asked.

"Torturing Magnius and Rodyle. For a kid, he's pretty good at keeping the Grand Cardinals in line." Forcystus told them. Mithos gave a proud grin.

"He gets that from me-"

"Shut up, Mithos." Kratos and Yuan cut him off. Mithos glared at them, crossing his arms. Forcystus raised an eyebrow at the three.

"So this is what the Seraphs of Cruxis act like when they're not leading the other angels." He said with an interested tone. Mithos glared while Yuan rolled his eyes at the younger Cruxis Leader and Kratos focused on Lloyd. Forcystus paused and held out Yuan's cape. "Oh, I almost forgot, Lloyd was carrying this."

Yuan quickly took it and hugged it, causing Mithos and Kratos to inch away from him. Forcystus gave the three an amused look, before bowing slightly.

"Well, if that's everything, I should be getting back to the Iselia Ranch." He said, turning to leave. He paused and looked over his shoulder at Lloyd one more time. "Take care of yourself, Lloyd."

Lloyd waved at the Grand Cardinal before yawning and curling up in his dad's arms and closing his eyes.

"You should probably get him back to his room soon." Mithos suggested. Kratos nodded and followed the other two, who had already started in that direction.

"I still don't understand why he would take my cape, though." Yuan wondered. Mithos sighed.

"Does it really matter? Get a life."

Kratos stayed silent, looking down at Lloyd with a guilty expression. Yuan and Mithos glanced at him before falling silent themselves and turning away.

Kratos eventually made it back to his room, entering while Mithos and Yuan continued in different directions. Kratos carefully opened the door to his son's room and walked inside, walking to the bed and settling his sleeping son into the covers. Noishe looked up from the end of the bed and whined. He moved further up and laid his head next to Lloyd, who cuddled up to the Protozoan's ear in his sleep.

Kratos went back to the door and turned out the light, leaning against the door frame and watching his son in the darkness. He absentmindedly played with Anna's exsphere in his hand. '_He must have been out there for hours before I even noticed he was gone…_' he thought. '_It would have been so easy for something to happen to him…'_

The words _"You can't be by his side forever, Kratos!"_ echoed in his head. He sighed and shut Lloyd's door, walking over to his own bed and sitting down. He put his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his free hand, the other clutching the exsphere like it was his lifeline. "What am I going to do, Anna?" he muttered, feeling helpless. He willed the exsphere to answer him, but it remained silent as always.

---

**Me: Ok, I think I'm going to stop there because it's the middle of the night and I'm tired. And this chapter somehow ended up being almost twice as long as usual, so my hands are about ready to fall off… Oh, and if you're wondering about the sudden Grand Cardinal appearances, I'm tired of only having 4 characters, only one of which acts his age and he's three… Thus, minor characters! Though they'll probably only pop up once every few chapters… And they'll probably be just as OOC as they were today unless I actually find time to replay the game some time soon. Though I think Forcystus will continue to be all playful and friendly because I like Forcystus and Lloyd said in a cut scene that they could have been friends if he hadn't been a murdering psychopath in the game and I control the universe here so mwahahahaha! … Anyway, I plan on more main characters making an appearance in a few chapters, too.**

**Lloyd: (playing Dawn of the New World) Did you say something?**

**Me: … Why are you playing that?**

**Lloyd: Because you bought it.**

**Me: Oh yeah. How bad is it that I had a twenty minute conversation with the guy who sold it to me about neither of us expecting it to be good, but both knowing we were going to buy it anyway just because it's the sequel to the first one.**

**Lloyd: It's a fangirl/fanboy thing. It could be the worst game in history but it's not going to stop you from buying it.**

**Me: That was strangely insightful for you, Lloyd. **

**Lloyd: Thank you.**

**Me: Not really a compliment, but whatever. Anyway, the game wasn't that bad. But nowhere near as amazing as the first.**

**Lloyd: The monster capturing system is like Pokemon.**

**Me: Don't remind me… Oh, and while I'm on this topic-**

**Lloyd: You're going to talk about Pokemon?! NOOOOOOOO-**

**Me: The topic of KoR. Just to let you know, I have no intention of anything Knights of Ratatosk/Dawn of the New World related being in my fanfics. They were all planned without it, and they will remain completely oblivious to the fact that it exists. Now, does that mean I won't someday have a KoR/DotNW fic? No. But as of right now there's only about a .01% chance of it happening. While I'm here, I'm choosing to ignore the fact that it ever existed. And that's the end of my rambling.**

**Lloyd: (still playing) huh? Did you say something?**

**Me: Oh, forget it. Review please. Flame if you want, but all flames will be used to-**

**Lloyd: Set Palmacosta on fire?**

**Me: … (burns KoR reference.) What did I just say about references?**

**Lloyd: Don't know. Wasn't listening.**

**Me: … Flames will be used to set Lloyd's hair on fire.**

**Lloyd: What?! What a minute!**


End file.
